Like his father Sunil Dutt, Sanjay Dutt has entered Indian politics. He is contesting for the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state in India.
Sanjay Dutt was convinced by party leader Amar Singh to stand and contest for the election. Sanjay said of his entry into Indian politics, “I was asked to contest elections by Amar Singhji because he said ‘you have done good work and the whole country is with you.’ And after coming to Lucknow and seeing the overwhelming response that I got from the Lucknow janata, I did realise that they are with me.”
Manyata, his wife is completely behind Sanjay’s decision to enter politics and was at the Lucknow rally where Sanjay made his debut speech as a politician. Shortly after, Manyata also made a speech thanked the public for their support for her husband. Dutt was so impressed by Manyata’s speech that he added with a smile after, “She’s spoken so nicely that I feel, in public meetings later on, I’ll stand on the stage and let Manyata speak for me.”
Since marrying him, Manyata has also taken it upon her to look after her husband fully. Whilst Sanjay is on shoots, she appoints deputies to keep her informed about her husband’s diet and drinks. Fruit juices have firmly replaced the ridiculous amount of alcohol he use to drink and food is served only according to Manyata’s menu.
Since Sanjay comes from a primarily Congress led family, it’s a mystery as to why he did not also join Congress, considering that both his father and sister joined as Congress MPs.
Another twist to Dutt’s move to contest for the political seat of Lucknow is that Sanjay has declared that he may not stand at all if Atal Behari Vajpayee sticks to Lucknow as his constituency because he is too small a candidate to stand aganist Vajpayee of the BJP.
What also cannot be ignored is that the 49 year old actor, is out on bail, following being found guilty of possessing illegal weapons that he bought from men accused of plotting the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts in 2007. He was sentenced six years in prison but was granted bail, pending an appeal. In India, you are still allowed to stand in politics despite a criminal conviction.
Like many Bollywood stars who have entered and left Indian politics, it remains to be seen how well Sanjay Dutt will do in this political role that he has opted for. Either way, he will still be on the big screen no matter what happens, as his shooting schedule is quite busy.
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